Mastodon @ Roundhouse 24/02/2010

Last night was Yeasayer, all poppy electro with vocal harmonies, tonight its a juggernaut of chugging riffs and shredded guitar solos. Intensity is a description of a situation which pushes the envelope somewhat. Mastodon for all their hair and brawn are a melodic band, with intricate rhythms. They are large hairy men with an air of hick about them, guitarist Bill Kelliher even rocks a mohawk mullet. They are joined on stage by a keyboardist who looks a little like a Mexican bandit with a shaved head and handle bar tache.

Bassist and singer Troy Sanders is shamanic in his delivery baying lines into his mic while plucking a pulsing beat anchoring Brent Hinds's playing. I enjoy Mastodon's music, I like the fact that they have pushed the boundaries in metal in terms of their subject matter and sound. I don't know them well enough to sing along but I do recognise a number of their songs, I had read about them being a band to be experienced live and I wasn't disappointed.

It was loud and I wore earplugs, again the crowd were a little off, standing stock still at a lively gig. The heavy rock gets to some though, a guy in front of me takes unkindly to being pushed when others are making their way through the crowd and shoves back. He takes exception to one guy who starts a bit of a pit with another and grabs him around the chops for barging around. There some handbags before others intervene and they glare at each other amongst the cacophony.

The band come on with this incredible screen as a backdrop. Initially it's stars flying around a dark screen, then it turns into a mixture of black and white and sepia film clips of an old bearded man looking like a monk walking around, a reference no doubt to Rasputin, about whom part of new album “Crack The Skye” is about. The visuals continue in a kaleidoscopic melange of monotone images with pale colours and samples of their album artwork. Like at Yeasayer it is hypnotic, a number of times I sit back and just tune into the music and watch the visuals tuning in to Hind's solos.

I saw The Mars Volta in the summer at Somerset House, they came on at half eight and played for two hours, it was amazing, the band came on, played their hearts out, and walked off. Mastodon don't play as long, and hour and a quarter or so but they walk on get straight into it and play hard. They play “Crack The Skye” in its entirety before leaving the stage momentarily, and returning for an encore which touches on their previous albums with songs from “Blood Mountain”, “Leviathan” and “Remission”. They deliver great renditions of “Divinations” and “The Last Baron” in the initial set and finish on an epic “March of The Fire Ants”.
Its only at the end that the band finally speak to the loving audience, “Thank you so fucking much”, they are highly appreciative and the crowd are loving in return.